Living with Rheumatic Heart Disease at the Intersection of Biomedical and Aboriginal Worldviews

Emma Haynes, Minitja Marawili, Makungun B. Marika, Alice Mitchell, Roz Walker, Judith M. Katzenellenbogen and Dawn Bessarab
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Emma Haynes: School of Global and Population Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
Minitja Marawili: Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, NT 0810, Australia
Makungun B. Marika: Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, NT 0810, Australia
Alice Mitchell: Menzies School of Health Research, Casuarina, NT 0810, Australia
Roz Walker: School of Global and Population Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
Judith M. Katzenellenbogen: School of Global and Population Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia
Dawn Bessarab: Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 8, 1-20

Abstract: Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) significantly impacts the lives of First Nations Australians. Failure to eliminate RHD is in part attributed to healthcare strategies that fail to understand the lived experience of RHD. To rectify this, a PhD study was undertaken in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, combining Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing with interviews (24 participants from clinical and community settings) and participant observation to privilege Aboriginal voices, including the interpretations and experiences of Aboriginal co-researchers (described in the adjunct article). During analysis, Aboriginal co-researchers identified three interwoven themes: maintaining good feelings; creating clear understanding (from good information); and choosing a good djalkiri (path). These affirm a worldview that prioritises relationships, positive emotions and the wellbeing of family/community. The findings demonstrate the inter-connectedness of knowledge, choice and behaviour that become increasingly complex in stressful and traumatic health, socioeconomic, political, historical and cultural contexts. Not previously heard in the RHD domain, the findings reveal fundamental differences between Aboriginal and biomedical worldviews contributing to the failure of current approaches to communicating health messages. Mitigating this, Aboriginal co-researchers provided targeted recommendations for culturally responsive health encounters, including: communicating to create positive emotions; building trust; and providing family and community data and health messages (rather than individualistic).

Keywords: First Nations Australians; Aboriginal Australians; Indigenous Australians; Aboriginal ways of knowing; being and doing; rheumatic heart disease; biomedical worldview; colonisation; wellbeing; empathy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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